Category: US Debt
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Saturday, June 30, 2018
Things To Know About This Week’s CBO US Debt Report / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Here are six things you might like to know about the Congressional Budget Office’s 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook, which was released on Tuesday.
- The CBO’s baseline scenario shows federal debt held by the public rocketing upward at a trajectory not seen since 2009, but this time on a sustained basis and breaching 150% of GDP by 2048. Here’s the chart:
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
The Federal Reserve And Long-Term Debt – Warning! / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Won’t somebody please say something different about the Federal Reserve? Or nothing at all?
It seems amazing to me that we are so studiously focused on comments, statements, or actions emanating from the Fed. It is as if we expect to find a morsel of truth that will give us special insight or a clue as to their next move.
I suppose that is reasonable to a certain extent – especially today. We are social-app (il)literate and very impatient. Seems to be a sort of day-trader mentality. Problem is that every morning we see the same headlines. All week long we hear about the most recent Fed meeting, or the release of minutes from the last meeting, or what to expect at the next meeting, etc., etc. And the cycle repeats itself every month. (I’m not Bill Murray and this is not Ground Hog Day.)
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Monday, April 09, 2018
A Handy Guide to Congressional Budget Office CBO Report / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Tomorrow we’ll get the Congressional Budget Office’s first look at the budgetary consequences of Donald Trump.
That is, the CBO will release its 10-year budget outlook, which was delayed by a few months to allow enough time to assess recent legislation.
Expect the media to respond in a variety of ways, including matter-of-fact reporting and editorials slamming Trump and the GOP for fiscal profligacy. But whatever the perspective, most responses will have one thing in common—they’ll accept the CBO’s figures as being accurate and authoritative.
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Thursday, March 29, 2018
Uncle Sam Issuing $300 Billion In New Debt This Week Alone / Interest-Rates / US Debt
– US needs to borrow almost $300 billion this week alone
– This is the largest debt issuance since 2008 financial crisis
– Trump threatens trade war with its biggest creditor – China
– Bond auctions have seen weak demand due to large supply and trade war concerns
– $20 trillion mark reached in early September 2017; $1 trillion added in just 6 months
– US total national debt level now exceeds $21.05 trillion and is accelerating higher
– U.S. debt and dollar crisis coming which will propel gold higher (see chart)
Monday, March 19, 2018
The Wealth Machine That Rising Interest Rates Create Conflict With The National Debt / Interest-Rates / US Debt
"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world." Albert Einstein
"My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest." Warren Buffett
Compound interest is an extraordinarily powerful financial tool, and reinvesting the cash flows received from investments has historically been the single most reliable way of building wealth over the long term.
For many people, understanding the power of compound interest is the very heart of financial literacy. Compound interest is the reason why people are urged to begin investing for retirement in their 20s and 30s, because having an extra decade or two for interest earnings on interest earnings to work their magic creates a wealth building machine, and far larger savings than would be amassed by someone starting in their 40s or 50s.
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Thursday, March 01, 2018
The Potential $54 Trillion Cost Of The Fed's Planned Interest Rate Increases / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The United States national debt is currently about $20 trillion, and the federal government is paying some of the lowest interest rates in history on that debt. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates five times now, and is publicly considering another seven increases between 2018 and 2020, for a total increase of 3%.
What will be the impact on the national debt and deficits if the interest payments on the debt jump upwards because of the actions of the Fed?
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Thursday, February 22, 2018
The Latest US Debt Blow / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Count me among the worriers that thought our debt was a problem at $10 trillion… and then at $15 trillion.I was wrong.
Or, at least, those levels didn’t seem to phase investors, who kept putting down their cold, hard cash to buy U.S. Treasury bonds.
As I shook my head over the past several years, we continued our profligate ways, and now our national debt stands at a whopping $20.5 trillion, slightly more than our annual GDP.
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Monday, February 12, 2018
Reckless Deficit Spending by Congress Set to Wreck the Dollar / Interest-Rates / US Debt
U.S. equities got a free ride on the Trump train after his election, even as Federal Reserve officials hiked interest rates. That ride may have ended last week.
If commentators are correct and the blame for recent selling in the stock market falls on the burgeoning fear of rising interest rates, it looks like Fed tightening is finally having the effect many predicted when the cycle began.
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Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Illinois’ Debt Crisis Foreshadows America’s Financial Future / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Those wanting a glimpse into the future of our federal government’s finances should have a gander at Illinois. The state recently “resolved” a high-profile battle over its budget. Taxpayers were clubbed with a 32% hike in income taxes in an effort to shore up massive underfunding in public employee pensions, among other deficiencies.
But, predictably, it isn’t working. People are leaving the state in droves.
In fact, Illinois now leads the nation in population collapse. Statistics show people leaving the state at the rate of 1 every 4.3 minutes and the state dropped from 5th place to 6th in terms of overall population.
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Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Government Shutdown Ends – Markets Ignore Looming Debt and Bond Market Threat / Interest-Rates / US Debt
– U.S. Senate pass a temporary spending plan through Feb. 8 to end shutdown
– Markets shrug off both government shutdown and re-opening
– Markets, government and media ignoring worsening US debt position
– Gold responding positively to U.S. dysfunction, rising US Treasury yields & weaker dollar
– U.S. government national debt is $20.6 trillion and increasing rapidly
– ‘Bonds, like men, are in a bear market’ – Bill Gross
Monday, December 11, 2017
Soaring Deficits Force US Treasury into Foolish Debt Gamble / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The Treasury opened the fiscal year 2018 with an October budget deficit of $63.2 billion. That is 37.9% larger than the $45.8 billion deficit in October of last year. The primary reason behind this surge in year-over-year deficits was a 21.6% increase in net interest expenses. The annual red-ink problem looks even greater when recognizing that the national debt is already over 105% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at nearly $21 trillion, and with an additional $10 trillion projected to be added in the next ten years.
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Monday, November 20, 2017
Soaring Deficits Force US Treasury into Foolish Debt Gamble / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The Treasury opened the fiscal year 2018 with an October budget deficit of $63.2 billion. That is 37.9% larger than the $45.8 billion deficit in October of last year. The primary reason behind this surge in year-over-year deficits was a 21.6% increase in net interest expenses. The annual red-ink problem looks even greater when recognizing that the national debt is already over 105% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at nearly $21 trillion, and with an additional $10 trillion projected to be added in the next ten years.
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Thursday, November 02, 2017
Government Finances and Gold - Cautionary Tale told in Four Charts / Interest-Rates / US Debt
“President Trump, in complete contradiction to candidate Trump, has praised Yellen for being a ‘low-interest-rate-person.’ One reason Trump may have changed his position is that, like most first-term presidents, he thinks low interest rates will help him win reelection. Trump may also realize that his welfare and warfare spending plans require an accommodative Fed to monetize the federal debt. The truth is President Trump’s embrace of status quo monetary policy could prove fatal to both his presidency and the American economy.” – Ron Paul, Institute for Peace and Prosperity
Editor’s note: This issue of our newsletter features several interactive, live charts offered in conjunction with the St. Louis Federal Reserve and the ICE Benchmark Administration/LBMA. You can access statistical details by moving your cursor over the charts. If the chart does not automatically update, please move the toggle button on the year bar all the way to the right. We invite you to bookmark this edition for future reference.
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Tuesday, October 31, 2017
US Debt Revelation Numbers / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The federal budget deficit widened in the fiscal year 2017 to the sixth highest on record, creating a budget shortfall of $666 billion. That is up $80 billion, or 14%, from the fiscal year 2016. The overspend resulted primarily from an increase in spending for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well as higher interest payments on the debt due to rising rates that drove up outlays to $4 trillion, which was 3% higher than the previous fiscal year.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, October 13, 2017
It Would Take A 50% Hike in Income Tax to Fund Current US Budget Deficit / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The projected total US debt will be $30 trillion within 10 years, using the CBO’s own numbers. But the CBO also makes the rosy assumptions that there will be no recessions and that GDP will grow at a 4% nominal rate.
Now, that’s possible; I'm inclined to haircut it a bit.
If you asked me to bet the “over/under” on the debt in 2027, I would bet the over at $35 trillion.
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
The Profoundly Personal Impact Of The National Debt On Our Retirements / Interest-Rates / US Debt
In this analysis we will take a look at something deeply personal – which is how the $20 trillion United States national debt may change the day-to-day quality of life for savers and retirees in the decades ahead. That is likely a somewhat unusual perspective for many savers and investors.
On the one hand, we have what are often thought of as abstract economic concepts - such as how large will the national debt be in 10 or 20 years? How will Federal Reserve actions to increase interest rates change future government deficits and debts?
On the other hand, we have something that is typically presented as being entirely different, which is individual financial planning. What are the savings and investment choices that we need to make today that will help determine what our standard of living may be in retirement 10, 20 or 30 years from now?
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Friday, October 06, 2017
Stunning U.S. Government Debt Increase In Past Few Days…. While No One Noticed / Interest-Rates / US Debt
As the stock market continues to rise on the back of some of the worst geopolitical, financial, and domestic news, the U.S. Treasury has been quietly increasing the amount of government debt, with virtually no coverage by the Mainstream or Alternative Media. So, how much has the U.S. debt increased in the past few days? A bunch.
The surge in U.S. debt that took place over the past two days all started when the debt ceiling limit was officially allowed to increase on Sept 8th. In just one day, the U.S. Treasury increased the public debt by $318 billion:
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Friday, September 15, 2017
US Government’s Promised Entitlements Exceed the Budget Seven Times in Some States / Politics / US Debt
The US government balance sheet features $80 trillion to $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities. This amount stems from future entitlement program burdens that are, in effect, government promises.
No one is going to vote to reduce their entitlements. (Well, other than the very well-off, who don’t actually need those entitlements.)
Unfunded pension liabilities at the state and local have swollen to roughly $4–$6 trillion in the United States. And that may be understating the severity of the problem.
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Friday, September 15, 2017
The US Debt Bubble Will Soon Warrant Serious Measures / Interest-Rates / US Debt
There is big debate over the exact amount of global debt.
Parts of it get hidden in many out-of-the-way pockets. But broadly speaking, global debt is about 325% of GDP, and likely over $225 trillion as I write.
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Friday, September 15, 2017
US Budget Deficit Swindling Futurity / Interest-Rates / US Debt
“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” ― Thomas Jefferson
Yesterday the government reported a “modest” August budget deficit of $108 billion. That’s one month folks. This is another example of how the government and their mainstream media mouthpieces portray horrifically bad, extremely abnormal financial data as normal and expected. They pretend everything that has happened since 2008 is just standard operating procedure. They follow the Big Lie theory to the extreme. The masses have been so dumbed down, desensitized, and taught to believe delusions, they can’t distinguish the abnormal from the normal.
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